Search For Life
by Cloud van Dyk
Summary: When Cloud dies in an accident, Tifa is left behind, alone. After heartbreak and agony, she pulls herself together and decides to bring Cloud back to life. On her search for life, Tifa meets new friends - and new foes...Chapter 5 up
1. Gone

Author's Note: Okay, this will become a loooong fic. At least I hope it will -_-() The idea came to me a few months ago, but it needed a lot of research and background and other things *sigh* Anyway, I hope you all like it! :-D

Disclaimer: FF7. Not mine. Not mine. Belongs to Squaresoft ™ 

Dedication: Dedicated to my best friend Simone, who keeps visiting me although I annoy her ^_^b You go, girl!! :-D

Search For Life

Prologue: Gone

"Aw come on, where is he?" Tifa Lockheart called out frustrated, her gaze focused on the clock that stood on the desk. It was almost eleven PM, and Cloud should've been home six hours ago. Biting her nails, Tifa tried to concentrate on the newspaper again, when all of a sudden her phone rang. Tifa jumped, scared, before she hurried over to where the phone stood and answered it.

"Lockheart and Strife?" she spoke into the receiver. 

"Tifa, it's Jen." Came the voice of Tifa's good friend Jen, who worked at Midgar City Hospital. 

"Hey Jen." Tifa spoke, smiling. "What makes you call me in the middle of the night?" Jen's next words turned Tifas blood into ice water and her guts into jelly.

"I'm calling because of Cloud, Tifa." Jen gently spoke. "He got into an accident on his way home from work." 

"No." Tifa whispered. "Oh dear God, no. No." Her vision started to become blurry, and she only heard a few of Jen's words…but she heard the ones which were most important. 

"Severe head wounds…not long to live anymore…and he wants to see you." Jen spoke. Later on, Tifa was sure that her friend had said more…but she hadn't heard.

"I'll…I'll be right there." She now whispered, her vision blurring even more when her eyes filled with tears. "I'll be right there…" With that, she hung up the receiver, grabbed her coat and ran out of the house.

***

"Cloud…" Tifa whispered while she sat down next to the bed of her lover, taking his hand. "Oh God, Cloud…" Her lover looked up at her, smiling weakly. His head was completely bandaged, only a few strands of blonde hair peeking out. 

"I love you." He now whispered. "I just…wanted to see you once more…before I go."

"No." Tifa sobbed. "No, you can't go. You can't leave me, Cloud. Do you hear? You can't. No. No." _Tell him that you love him. Before it's too late. "I love you." Tifa whispered, finally accepting the harsh truth. Cloud was dying…and she couldn't help him. "I love you. I love you." The beeping of the ECG machine already became slower, and Tifa knew that it soon would turn into a long flat tone. "I love you." She repeated over and over again, tears streaming down her face. "I love you. I love…" Her voice cracked when Cloud smiled up at her once more before he closed his eyes. And then, the beeping stopped, turning into the tone Tifa had feared so much to her. The tone that showed that her lover's heart had stopped beating. Tifa broke down crying, the truth hitting her with the force of a sledgehammer. Cloud Strife, her lover, her soulmate, was gone. Gone. _


	2. Heartbroken

Chapter 1: Heartbroken

„I'm so worried about her. She hasn't eaten for days!" Jen explained into the receiver of her phone. On the other end of the line, Cid Highwind responded.

"I understand her fully, Jen. Ever since he died…Tifa's not the same." The usually grumpy pilot replied with surprising and unknown gentleness in his voice. Jen sighed. 

"I understand her, too, but we can't let her go on like that! It'll kill her in the end." The young nurse spoke, worried to no-end. "We have to make her moving on."

"We can't make her moving on, @%&%$%!!" Cid replied, his voice harsh all of a sudden again. 

"Cid! Language!" Shera's voice came from the background, and Cid grumbled for a while before he talked on. 

"She has to move on, but she has to do it out of her own will. We can't push her into moving on, not as long as she suffers from her loss." The pilot exclaimed. 

"Wise words." Jen sighed, finally realizing that her friend was right. "But I want to help her so badly!" she then cried out, hot tears stinging in her eyes all of a sudden.

"I know. Shera and I want to help her, too." Cid replied softly. "We'll come over to Midgar as soon as possible, Jen. Pilot promise." 

"Okay." Jen replied, letting out another sigh. "I'll take care of her in the meanwhile…and I'll make sure that she won't do anything stupid." Cid nodded, then remembered that Jen couldn't see that, since they were on the phone. 

"Good thing, Jen. We'll see you soon." With that, the two hung up, and Jen leaned back in her chair. "Tifa." She sighed to herself, staring up at the ceiling. "Just let me help you…"

***

Cloud Strife 

_Devoted Lover_

_Loved Friend_

_We'll miss you – may you rest in Peace_

Hot, salty tears ran down Tifa's cheeks while she stared at the tombstone that showed where Cloud had been buried. The tears mixed with the rain that dripped from the sky and slowly wetted her clothes, but the brunette didn't care about that. All she had been caring about was her lover Cloud, and now that he was gone…she felt empty. As if her soul had died with him and only had left a shallow casing which looked, acted and behaved like Tifa, but which wasn't her. Not at all. 

"Why?" Tifa whispered, sinking to her knees in front of the grave. "Why, Cloud? Why did you just leave like that?" Another racked sob shook her body, and she buried her face in her hands. And then, all of a sudden, all her pain and sorrow broke free in one heart-wrenching scream: "WHY?"

***

Jen's head came up from the newspaper when she heard how the front door opened. "Tifa? Is that you?" she called out, although there weren't much more possibilities who it could be. 

"Yes." Came the tired sounding reply. Tifa entered the room shortly after, her long hair and clothes dripping wet. 

"My God, Tifa, you'll catch a death cold if you stay in those wet clothes. Come on, let's get you dried up." Jen exclaimed while she rose from her chair. Tifa just shot her a short glance. 

"Maybe catching a death cold isn't such a bad idea." She then spoke, her eyes glued to the floor. "After all, I'd be reunited with Cloud again if I die…"

"Don't you dare to think that way!" Jen cried out, grabbing Tifas shoulders and forcing her to look at her. "Don't you dare." She repeated, in a more gentle tone. Tifa shrugged her hands off and left the room without bothering to look at her once more. Jen let out a heavy sigh and sat down again. It was obvious that Tifa's heart was broken, and the young nurse saw no way to heal it again. 


	3. Moving On

Chapter 2: Moving On

„Hello? Anyone at home?" Tifa's head came up at the well-known, rough voice, and she quickly put the newspaper she'd been reading – or had tried to – aside. The brunette made her way over to the front door, and upon opening it, she found herself face to face with the One and Only Cid Highwind.

"Hey, Tiff." The pilot now grinned, the ever-present cigarette he had dangling from his mouth nearly falling down thanks to the motion. 

"Cid!" Tifa called out, surprise in her voice. Behind the blonde pilot, Shera popped up, smiling and waving. 

"Hi Tifa!" the scientist cried out before she shoved Cid aside, earning a grumble, and pulled the stunned Tifa into a bone crushing embrace. The brunette gasped at the surprising strength of the delicate Shera, and she nearly ran out of air when Cid decided to join the hug. 

"Group hug!" Jen's voice came, and before Tifa knew what happened to her, she found herself surrounded by three people who all tried to hug her at the same time.

"Guys…guys!" the brunette finally managed to cry out. "You're crushing me! Let go of me!" One by one, her three friends moved back, allowing her to breathe again. As soon as she had recovered, Tifa motioned towards the front door. 

"Let's get inside now, before the neighbors think we'll have an orgy or something." Jen chuckled at that dry remark, and the quartet made it's way into the house.

***

"Listen, Tiff, I know it's hard. But you should try to move on." Cid spoke in his most convincing tone. Tifa let out a sigh and leaned back in her chair, staring up at the ceiling. 

"I would…but it's so difficult." She finally spoke, her voice shaking. When she looked at Cid again, her eyes were glistening with unshed tears. "Everywhere I look…everywhere I go…I'm always reminded of Cloud. No matter what I do, Cid, it all makes me think about him! How am I supposed to move on, then?" Finally, the tears ran, and Tifa allowed Cid to pull her into a comforting hug. 

"We all miss him." The pilot spoke softly while Tifa cried into his shirt. "But grieving for years won't bring him back, Tifa." All of a sudden, Tifa's head came up. 

"You're right." She said, a somehow weird tone in her voice. "But maybe there is a way to bring him back…" Cid nearly slapped himself for making Tifa think about that. 

"No." the pilot protested. "I don't think that…" 

"Who knows?" Tifa interrupted him. "The Ancient's knew so much, maybe they also knew about ways to bring back the dead…and maybe I can find a way." 

"How?" Cid asked, desperation in his voice. "All the Ancient's are dead, remember?" Tifa nodded, deep in thought.

"Yes…but there must be some things left. Like books, or maybe ancient scrolls…the Cosmo Canyon Library!" the brunette suddenly cried out. (A/N: Yep, yep, I know that there was no Library mentioned in the game. But I need one, and Cosmo Canyon seems like the best place for it, so don't sue me.) Cid let out a heavy sigh and hung his head low. He finally had managed to tear Tifa out of her agony, but now the brunette was determined to bring Cloud back to life. For one moment, Cid wondered if he had done the right thing, then he made his decision.

"Good. We'll take the Highwind and fly over to Cosmo Canyon. If we don't find anything in the library, we'll go back home and never bring the topic up again. Deal?" Tifa nodded.

"Deal." That satisfied Cid, and he lit another cigarette. "Fine. Then pack your things, so we can leave soon." Tifa nodded and hurried out of the room while Cid stayed, still not sure if he had done the right thing.

***

"Bye Shera! Bye Jen!" Tifa waved to her two friends, for the first time since Cloud's death smiling again. 

"Bye Tifa! And good luck!" Jen shouted back. Unlike Cid, Shera and her had approved the idea of bringing Cloud back to life; still, the two women had decided to stay, since someone needed to take care of Tifa's bar "Cloud Nine" while the original owner and Cid were gone. 

"Tifa! Come in here, it'll be windy outside!" Cid's voice came from the control room. Tifa waved one last time and then left the deck of the Highwind, ready to find a way to bring her lover back to life. Her search for life had begun.


	4. The Wolf Talker

Chapter 3: The Wolf Talker

„How long?" Tifa asked after almost one hour of flying. Cid tore his gaze from the steering wheel for a moment and replied: 

"Twenty minutes, Tiff." Tifa nodded, satisfied, and looked out of the window at the landscape that fly by underneath the impressive air ship. Then, a pack of wolves caught her eye, all of them running into one direction. Frowning, Tifa let her eyes travel over the green land underneath, until her eye caught a figure running, carrying a long wooden staff in one hand. Or, better said, fleeing from the wolf pack.

"Cid!" Tifa yelled, running over to the pilot. "Cid, land! There's someone who needs help!" 

"Huh?" Cid replied, frowning. Tifa pointed to the running person, and Cid's eyes went wide. 

"Holy %&$$&!" The pilot cursed before he landed the Highwind as fast as possible, some meters ahead of the running person who now appeared to be a young man with shortcut, brown hair and a fuzzy beard on his cheeks. Tifa and Cid quickly climbed down the rope ladder that hung from the deck of the Highwind and ran over to him, the pack of wolves steadily approaching. 

"Hey!" Tifa yelled, catching the guy's attention. "HEY!" 

"Huh?" the man replied intelligently while he came to a stop. 

"You need help?" Cid asked, clutching his trusty Venus Gospel tightly. 

"Help?" the man replied, totally dumbfounded. Tifa pointed at the wolves that soon would reach them and spoke: 

"With the wolves. They are about to attack you!" the brunette panted, a little worked up from running so fast. The guy gave her a look of utter confusion.

"Attack me?" he repeated. Tifa was just about to ask him if he always repeated what other people said when the wolves reached them.

***

"Tiff, get down!" Cid shouted when one of the animals jumped towards the brunette, gritting it's teeth. Tifa shrieked when the wolf crashed against her and caused her to fall. She squeezed her eyes shut, awaiting the deadly bite of the animal, and let out a shocked yelp when she felt something very rough, very wet on her face. Slowly, Tifa opened one eye – and had to see that the wolf didn't want to bite her, but seemed to enjoy licking her face. Next to her, the odd guy knelt down, ruffling the fur of two of the wolves. Cid just stood there, gaping. 

"Hey, get off her." The brown haired guy finally spoke, and the wolf who still licked Tifas face obeyed and sat down next to her, wagging his tail. Tifa sat up, staring at the man in awe.

"How do you do that?" Cid finally managed to ask, causing the guy to look at him. 

"I talk to them." He then spoke, in a tone as if Cid was the biggest idiot in the whole wide world. 

"We saw that." Tifa replied, getting to her feet. "But why are they _listening to you?" The guy gave her a cocky grin and performed a cute little bow._

"Let me introduce myself. The name's Richard Sehan, commonly known as the Wolf Talker." 

***

"The Wolf Talker?" Cid repeated, his eyes wide. "But…but that's only a legend!" Richard shot him a glare. 

"Well, for a legend I'm pretty much alive, don't you think?" he then asked, frowning at him. Much to Tifas amusement, Cid pouted like a five year old who had been caught stealing cookies. 

"True." The pilot finally admitted. Richard just sighed and turned to look at Tifa. 

"Care to tell me your names, too?" Tifa gave him a small smile. 

"Of course. I'm Tifa Lockheart, and this is Cid Highwind." Richard's eyes went wide. 

"Wait a minute. Tifa Lockheart and Cid Highwind? The ones who saved our world?" Cid nodded proudly and replied:

"You're @&%$&% right on that, boy." 

"Cid! Language!" Tifa cried out. Cid glared at her, and Richard shook his head. 

"Well, peeps", he then said, "it was nice to meet you, but I must run on." 

"Where are you going?" Tifa asked.

"Cosmo Canyon." Was the short reply. 

"We're heading there too, if you want you can fly with us." Cid suggested, trying to be nice, but Richard shook his head. 

"Thanks for offering, but no. My wolves don't like heights. Well, see you at the Canyon then!" And with that, Richard ran off, followed by his wolves, leaving a stunned Tifa and Cid behind. 


	5. Cosmo Canyon

Chapter 4: Cosmo Canyon

„Now that was an odd guy." Cid mumbled while he flew the Highwind on, towards Cosmo Canyon. 

"Hmhm." Tifa replied absent-mindedly, staring out of the window. Cid frowned and looked over to her.

"But he was kinda cute." The pilot then continued. 

"Hmhm." Was the only reply he received. His frown deepened, and he slowly realized that Tifa probably didn't listen to him at all.

"You know Tifa, you're kinda hot. I wanna sleep with you." The blonde pilot now spoke. 

"Hmhm." Came the short reply. Cid laughed and shook his head. 

"Tiff! You aren't even listening!" he then accused his friend. 

"Huh?" Tifa replied, finally snapping out of lala-land. "What did you say?" the brunette asked, confused.

"Nothing." Cid replied, still laughing. "We're almost there, better get yourself ready." He then advised his friend. Tifa nodded and left the room to pack her things while Cid concentrated on flying the Highwind again.

***

Tifa and Cid approached the gate of Cosmo Canyon, and the man who stood there guarding immediately recognized them. He started to wave frantically, yelling:

"Cid! Tifa! How nice to see you again!" Tifa smiled at him and shook his hand as soon as she was close enough to do so. 

"Nice to see you too, Alec. Hey, is Nanaki here?" Alec nodded, pointing towards the house that belonged to the lion-like creature. 

"He should be at home right now. Hey Tiff, didn't you bring Cloud with you? I thought the two of you…" he trailed off when he saw the sad expression that slowly spread over Tifas face. 

"Cloud…Cloud died last month." Tifa softly explained, and Alec paled visibly. 

"Oh Tifa, I'm sorry…I didn't want to…" 

"It's okay." Tifa interrupted him, giving him a weak smile. "You didn't know. Anyway…can we go see Nanaki now?" Alec nodded and stepped aside, allowing the two of them to enter Cosmo Canyon.

"Finally made it here, ha?" a deep, known voice suddenly came from the right. Both Cid and Tifa flinched and spun around, only to find themselves face to face with the Wolf Talker, Richard. 

"How did you get here that fast?" Cid wondered out loud. Richard just grinned and shrugged. 

"I'm a fast runner." He then replied. Tifa waved her hand, gaining the attention of the two men. 

"You can chit-chat later on. Now Cid, let's go and see Nanaki." Cid nodded, said goodbye to Richard and followed Tifa over to the house Nanaki lived in.

"Nanaki! Are you at home?" Tifa called out, looking for her friend in the process. Nanaki came running out of the bedroom in the very next moment, his eyes wide with surprise.

"Tifa! Cid! What are you doing here?" he asked surprised, and doing what his species did for grinning. Tifa quickly explained everything that had happened and why she was here.

"Well…" Nanaki spoke as soon as she had finished, "I guess it's no problem to let you have a look at the library. But Tifa, all the books of the Ancient's are written in their language, can you read it?" Tifa frowned, and disappointment shone through her voice when she answered:

"No, I guess I can't. Well, Cid…seems like we made the way in vain." 

"Now you won't give up that fast, will ya?" Cid protested. "Do  you think you can drag me all the @$%&§& way over here and then leave again without even trying?!" 

"But Cid!" Tifa cried out. "I can't read the Cetra language! So what am I supposed to do?" 

"Well, ask that Richard guy. Maybe he can read it. Or someone else here in Cosmo Canyon." Cid shot back. Tifa considered this for a moment, then nodded. 

"Okay. Let's try to find someone who can read the Cetra language." She then spoke. Cid grinned and nodded, and the two of them left the house, followed by Nanaki. 


	6. Surprising Revelation

Chapter 5: Surprising Revelation

Tifa, Nanaki and Cid wandered through Cosmo Canyon, searching for Richard, but with no avail. 

"Where on earth is he?" Tifa finally cried out, frustrated. Cid shrugged.

"Dunno, Tiff." The pilot replied, before he made a beeline to the bonfire that always burned in the middle of Cosmo Canyon and used it to light his cigarette, much to Nanakis horror. 

"Cid!" the lion-like creature cried out. "Are you insane?! You can't do that with the holy fire!" Cid just grinned and blew a cloud of smoke into the air. 

"As you see, I %&$%@/& can." The pilot then grinned. Nanaki growled at him, but Cid shrugged it off and turned to look at Tifa, who was desperate.

"Where is he?!" she cried out frustrated. That was when a voice came from behind, scaring her to no-end.

"Looking for someone special?" The brunette spun around on her heels, her fists raised – only to find herself face to chest with Richard. Face to chest because of Richards size. 

"Yeah, for you." Tifa now snapped, her fists falling back to her side. "Where have you been, anyway?"

Richard huffed. "When I checked the last time, I wasn't your boyfriend. So why should I tell you where I go?" Tifa growled at the man, visibly angered.

"Well, when I checked the last time, the chances of you being my boyfriend some day were non-existent." She shot back. 

"Now, now!" Cid butted in. "We don't want to fight, right? Rich, we need your help." Richard eyed the pilot warily. 

"And how could I help you?" he finally asked. Cid gave him a toothy grin.

"You don't happen to be able to read the Cetra language, right?" he then asked.

Richards eyes went wide, and Tifa could feel her heart sink when he shook his head.

"No, I can't read it. What gives you that idea anyway?" he then asked, sounding annoyed. Tifa let out a sigh and sat down on the ground, sudden sadness overcoming her. 

"Well…seems like we did come here in vain, Cid." She softly spoke. Cid knelt down next to her and placed one hand on her shoulder. 

"Tifa…" he started, but Richard suddenly interrupted him. 

"You know…I'm not able to read it. But I know someone who is." Tifas head came up, her eyes shining with new hope. 

"You do?" she cried out, happily. Before Cid, Richard or Nanaki could react, the brunette had jumped up and pulled Richard into a bear hug. 

"Ummm, yes." The Wolf Talker finally managed to press out while his face slowly started to turn blue. "But Tifa, I can't…breathe…let….go….." Tifa blushed heavily.

"Sorry." She quickly apologized, pulling back. Richard coughed and rubbed his rib area while Tifa grinned at him sheepishly. "Sometimes I forget how strong I am." She then spoke, blushing. 

"It's okay." Richard replied. "Well…back to the person who can read the Cetra language…" 

"Who is it?" Tifa asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. "C'mon, tell us who he or she is and where we find him or her so we can go there and…" Before she could babble on with excitement, Richard interrupted her, and the two words he said made her fall silent immediately. 

"It's Sephiroth."

***

"What?" Cid, Tifa and Nanaki cried out in unison, their eyes widening. 

"That can't be!" Cid shouted, gaining the attention of every other person in Cosmo Canyon. "We killed the @&&%$%&ing freak!" Richard gave him an apologetic look and shrugged.

"Yeah, you did. But he was revived by the Life Stream and…" he coughed, "by me." 

"By you?!" Nanaki yelled, his burning tail swinging around wildly. 

"Why on earth would you want to revive him?!" Tifa demanded to know. Richard looked at her, and what he said next shocked the brunette even more than his former confession. 

"Because Sephiroth…is my father."


End file.
